(Continuedfrom page 818) Middle East oil
ports and industrial nations, the Strait of
Hormuz is one of the world's busiest sea
lanes. Traffic never stops; it really can't.
The goliaths we now encountered require
more than a mile to turn or stop.
With the wind at our backs we flew safely
through the strait and sailed down Oman's
coast to the port capital of Muscat.
Several years ago we would have been de
nied entry into Muscat, for the country was
closed to outsiders. But in 1970 the present
sultan, Qabus, exiled his father and set
about modernizing the nation, though
Oman still discourages tourism. One of Qa
bus's foresighted moves was to appoint a
noted Italian archeologist, Paolo Costa, as
Oman's archeological adviser. Dr. Costa
greeted us in Muscat.
I was especially eager to meet Dr. Costa,
for I had heard reports that the remains of a
structure somewhat similar to a Sumerian
ziggurat had recently been discovered in
Oman. The country is considerably more
distant from Iraq than is Bahrain, and if the
reports were true, it was a major discovery.
Monument Marks Mining Region
Dr. Costa confirmed the discovery, but
withheld final judgment. A team of scholars
from Harvard University had found the ruin
near the ancient port of Suhar on Oman's
north coast.
"There is nothing like it on the entire Ara
bian Peninsula," Dr. Costa explained, "but
whether it is Sumerian, I cannot say. It
seems to share the main characteristics of a
ziggurat. But come and see for yourself."
Traveling to Suhar by car, we drove in
land to where a riverbed known as Wadi al
"It had no beginning and no end," says Heyerdahl of a riverlike streak of red tide
encountered on the last leg of the voyage. He found encouragingly less pollution and
floating oil than on previous expeditions. "I hope it's because something is being done. I
know that shipowners are terribly concerned. In the beginning, like everyone else, they
didn't realize that there is a limit to the ocean."
National Geographic,December 1978
824